Buying Freedom
by Kirsh
Summary: A young Tauren huntress, alone and inexperienced, finds herself suddenly ambushed by a group of Grimtotem. After suffering at their hands, she is given a choice - continue to be a slave, or buy her freedom. Written for Warlockery as a request.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

Seraina stepped carefully through the muck that covered her hooves, doing her best not to disturb the water and alert the creatures of Dustwallow Marsh to her presence. The Tauren huntress had traveled from Mulgore straight to Dustwallow Marsh in order to find herself a more suitable companion instead of the tallstrider that she had been given upon first choosing her class when she had come of age. True, there were probably better companions to be found elsewhere and in a less dangerous place than the Marsh, but Seraina wanted to prove to others that she was just as brave and as strong as they were. Sure, maybe she couldn't yet hit the broad side of a barn with her bow and arrow, and sure, maybe she wasn't as quiet as some of the more experienced Tauren hunters, but so far, she had managed not to get herself killed by the wildlife or anything else, for that matter.

She slogged her way through the small stream that separated two mounds of dry land, then carefully stepped onto the bank, hauling herself up the side of the hill and onto the rise. Seraina paused, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the murky sun that beat down on her. She surveyed the land before her, but saw nothing amiss. Just the same dark, spindly, moss-covered trees and the same dark, spongy ground that sucked at her hooves. Maybe there was some movement in the tall brown grass over there, but it was nothing to be alarmed about, right?

Seraina was just out of her apprenticeship as a hunter. By rights, she shouldn't even _be_ in Dustwallow Marsh, but there were better companions here. Stronger companions. Besides, having a tallstrider or a cat or a wolf was just _so_ common. There were raptors here, and crocolisks, and maybe something else just as interesting. All she had to do was find one, tame it, and then it would fight with her, for her, and she could take her new companion out of this scary place, and somewhere just a little bit safer. That thought cheered her up and gave her a little more courage to venture deeper into Dustwallow Marsh, her ears pricked up and forward, listening to every little sound.

By the time the sun started to finally sink below the horizon of surrounding mountains and the tree tops, Seraina believed she had traversed almost every inch of Dustwallow Marsh and hadn't yet come across a creature that satisfied her. Oh, she had seen plenty. The raptors were colorful and beautiful and vicious. The crocolisks were fierce and very frightening. But they just didn't resonate with her. Seraina considered just giving up and heading back to the Barrens or even to Mulgore and just retrieving the pet she'd left behind there, but doing that would be to admit defeat, and she wasn't about to do that. It would just make the older hunters believe she wasn't ready to be on her own, and that she needed to be watched all the time. Seraina huffed and stamped a hoof into the mucky earth, cracking a fallen twig beneath her cloven foot. She was tired of being treated like a child who didn't know anything. She knew how to take care of herself. After all, she'd been wandering Dustwallow Marsh for hours and had managed to survive being eaten twice and had made an ogre decide that she wasn't worth the time it would take to kill her.

"Okay, so I didn't actually _hit_ him with an arrow," Seraina told the denizens of the marsh, "but at least I showed him I meant business!"

The marsh remained silent, except for the chirping of insects and the distant calls of other wildlife. The young Tauren huntress let out a deep sigh and started to look for a relatively dry place to make her camp for the night. It looked like, once more, she was going to spend another night in the marsh, eating cold food and barely sleeping for fear that something might actually surge out of the darkness and eat her. Seraina glanced around her, her ears twitching. She scented something different on the wind this time, something that made every nerve in her body tense and tremble. She didn't recognize the scent, but it was almost familiar. Curiosity winning over common sense, Seraina shifted her position to downwind of the scent, then doubled back and crouched in a clump of bushes.

A dark furred Tauren warrior stepped into view, his eyes downcast as he sought something on the detritus-covered floor. Seraina's eyes widened in shock. _A Grimtotem!_ She fought to keep from moving even an inch. She knew the story behind the Grimtotem tribe of Tauren - who _didn't_ \- and knew that she was better off remaining as still as possible rather than trying to make a run for it. First of all, the bull Tauren was a warrior, which meant he could close the distance between them faster than what was fair, and he was much stronger than she. As long as he kept focused on whatever it was he was looking for, she had a good chance of escaping notice. As soon as he turned his back, Seraina began to creep backwards, one slow step at a time, carefully placing her feet to keep from cracking branches or making the muck make its _schlurp_ ing sound when it sucked at her hooves. When she was far enough away from him, Seraina turned to flee.

She never saw the huge fist coming straight for her face. She only felt it connect.

She hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud and gasped as tears stung her eyes. Her vision swam with the pain that threatened to overwhelm her, but somehow she managed to push the feeling of terror down long enough to spin around, raise her bow, and launch an arrow at her attacker.

She missed.

The ring of Grimtotem Tauren surrounding her laughed, their voices a menacing chorus.

Seraina stared up at the lead Tauren, a massive bull with black fur covering his arms, chest, and face. Dark, glittering eyes leered at her from under a strong brow. His lips were pulled back in a grin that made her shudder. They were all bulls, Seraina finally noticed, save for two in the back. The female Grimtotem held only contemptuous gazes for her, then put their heads together and whispered something to each other. Without a word, the two females departed, leaving Seraina stuck in a ring of Grimtotem bulls.

She struggled to her hooves, but she was too slow. One of the bulls from her left reached out and plucked her bow from her hands as easily as he might pick up a twig from the ground. A second grabbed her by her left bicep and hauled her upright painfully. She cried out, unable to stop the sound. She felt another three-fingered hand dig into her mane and pull her head back with more force than necessary. Tears sprung into her eyes as the same bull yanked her arm up behind her shoulder-blades, effectively immobilizing her. The lead bull stepped forward then, his steps smooth and heavy, and he grabbed her chin, lifting her head up so she was forced to stare right into his eyes. He said nothing, not even when he hooked his thumb into the corner of her mouth and forced her jaws to part. He inspected her mouth, turning her head left and right as he studied her teeth. Then he released her mouth and grasped her breasts through her shirt, squeezing them as if he were testing melons for the ripeness.

"No!" Seraina screamed, trying to kick out at him. That only caused her to become off-balance, making the bull holding her up all that was between her and the ground.

"Shut up." the bull's backhand was vicious, cracking across her face with enough force to snap her head to the side and make her ears ring. "She's pretty feisty, for a Mulgore bitch."

The group laughed in response to their leader's comment. Seraina turned her head to glare at him, spitting blood to the ground. Off balance as she was, she couldn't launch an attack, even against the bull holding her. But she still had her voice. "Let me go." she said, almost growling the words. "Let me go. Right now."

The leader regarded her with contempt. Then he smiled. "Do you hear that, boys? She wants us to let her go."

They laughed, a cold and cruel sound that made her shiver. The leader looked to the bull holding her upright and nodded.

He let her go.

Seraina gasped as she fell toward the ground, hitting the spongy earth on her back. She didn't get a chance to try and regain her feet; the lead Grimtotem was suddenly crouching, grabbing her ankle and dragging her toward him. Seraina screamed and kicked out at him, missed, and scrabbled her fingers in the earth, picking up a giant clod. She threw it at his face and this time it connected with his eyes. He let out a terrible bellow and jerked back, releasing her. Using the moment of shock, Seraina rolled onto her stomach and struggled to gain her feet. She gained momentum and got herself upright, then bolted for the thinnest part of the ring of Grimtotem males.

One of the younger males stuck out his arm and clotheslined her.

She flipped backwards and landed hard, driving the breath from her. Fingers grasped her clothes, her mane, tearing and dragging before depositing her back in the center of the circle. She struggled, punching and kicking and biting, but it was all for nothing. The leader recovered from her attack and punched her hard in the face, snapping her head backwards. She fell to the ground, stunned and scared and bloody.

"Hold her." the leader commanded, his voice filled with anger.

Hands grabbed her wrists. Seraina cried and struggled against the Grimtotem pulling her arms above her head, but he was stronger than she, and he pinned her down easily. She watched through tear-filled eyes as the leader's hands went to his belt, unclasping it and opening it, before his fingers opened his pants. He pushed them down far enough to reveal a thick cock hanging flaccid between his legs. Seraina's eyes widened and fear flashed through her. She screamed wordlessly and thrashed, kicking out with heavy flashing hooves to prevent anyone - especially him - from getting close to her.

"I said hold her!"

The young male that had clotheslined her approached. "Druoth, are you sure we should do this here?"

In response, Druoth, the leader, backhanded the youth with enough force to send him to the ground. " _I_ am the leader here. The bitch needs to be taught a lesson." His hand wrapped around his own length, and he stared down at her as he stroked his cock into rising.

The youth picked himself up off the ground and nodded. He stared down at Seraina like it was _her_ fault he'd gotten hit. Then he grabbed one of her flailing legs and pinned it to the ground. Someone else grabbed her other leg and pinned it as well.

Seraina screamed and cried and struggled futilely, arching her body this way and that to try and dislodge the bulls that were restricting her movement and to keep Druoth from an easy conquest. _It won't work,_ said a babbling, terrified voice in the back of her mind, _it won't work. He's too strong. They're too strong. No! No! No! No!_ "Get _away_ from me!" Seraina screamed.

Druoth stood proud and erect now, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a pleased grin. Her struggles made him excited. The thought of forcing himself on her made him happy. Seraina caught glimpses of the other males in the ring as she continued to thrash and realized that their hands were down their pants stroking themselves in anticipation, and some were openly jerking themselves off, their cocks dripping with pearlescent fluid as their eyes were locked on her.

She continued to thrash, for all the good it did her. She couldn't get more than a few inches off the ground any way she rolled her body, and her arms and legs weren't finding any give in the grips of her captors. Then Druoth's hand closed on the material of her shirt and he yanked. Cloth ripped. Her breasts fell free from the confines of her clothes and were immediately grabbed by the bull Grimtotem pinning her arms with his knees. Druoth didn't stop him. Instead, he seemed to encourage the movement, because he completely ignored the hands on her. Seraina cried as those hands squeezed her breasts, pinching her nipples hard enough to make her scream in true pain. Those thick fingers rolled her nipples between them, left and right, up and down, squeezing the flesh of her breasts hard enough to leave visible marks when released. A male from the edge of the ring stepped forward, his cock hard and erect and dripping, his hand moving furiously up and down the shaft. He didn't do more than stand over her and stroke himself, but it was clear he wanted to do more than just that. Ironically enough, it was Druoth who was preventing that male from doing more than grunting as he stared down at Seraina's breasts, and preventing him from doing more than releasing ribbon after ribbon of white semen onto her breasts and his comrade's hands. And those hands kneaded that come across her breasts and nipples, making them sticky and shiny. Her nipples stood erect, pinched into tiny nubs by those fingers that smeared semen across her fur.

Tears streamed from Seraina's eyes as a second male came forward and came across her face.

Then it got worse.

Druoth's fingers hooked in the waistband of Seraina's pants and yanked. Seams ripped from his brute strength as he yanked her pants down and then completely off. She managed to free her leg from the youth and kicked at Druoth's face, screaming. She should've connected. She should have been able to kick his head clear off his shoulders. She would have. But he was too fast. His hand caught her ankle and he used her momentum to aid his brute strength as he forced her to roll. Now she was on her stomach, one leg held in Druoth's hand while someone else held the other. She felt Druoth's cock against the crack of her ass, hot and heavy and hard and wet. He was laughing as he began to move, rubbing the shaft against her flesh, teasing her with her inevitable future.

She begged. Pleaded. Screamed. Threatened. Cried. She did everything to fight.

Then the head of his cock pressed against her labia, rubbing against her like he was actually trying to excite her. She clenched, clawing at the earth to pull herself away. Druoth's other hand gripped her hip bruisingly, his fingers digging into her flesh hard enough to grind the bones of her hips together. There was no preamble. He shoved himself inside her, past her clenched muscles. Then he withdrew until only the head of his cock was inside her and shoved in again, deep enough that she could feel Druoth's hips against her backside. Pain flooded her senses and she couldn't scream loud enough. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed, her entire body tensing as tight as a drawn bowstring. Each thrust was agony, and he showed no signs of stopping.

He pulled out only once, his laughter cold and cruel. "Look. A virgin."

"Not anymore," crowed a bull from somewhere to her left.

Druoth's black laughter filled her ears and his thrusts came harder. He buried himself deep inside her, so deep that she was sure he was bruising things that couldn't be bruised. Then he grabbed her mane and yanked her head up, making her back bow. He continued the violent movement, pulling his blood-covered cock all the way out before thrusting back in. He let go of her hip to wrap that arm around her neck, yanking her back against him. His other hand then gripped her leg and pulled it to the side. Seraina dimly realized that the position he now held her in allowed the ring of Grimtotem to watch his cock slide in and out of her, allowed them to see her bloodied hole, allowed them to better see her torture.

Hot stickiness splashed against her stomach, her chest, and her face. Druoth wouldn't allow them to use her as he was, but he was allowing them to come on her. Seraina cried silently, or somewhat silently, because she couldn't scream anymore. Druoth continued to thrust into her, grunting into her ear as he gasped for breath. Then her tears came harder and hotter than they ever had before as she felt his cock pulse inside her. He thrust deep inside her, too deep, and her insides stung as his seed filled her. When he finished, he released her, allowing her to fall to the ground on her hands and knees. His cock slid out of her and hung limply between his legs as he got to his feet. He tucked himself back into his pants and grunted.

"If you want those cocks satisfied, it's ten gold apiece. Otherwise, anyone who touches her will answer to me. " Druoth said, his words broken only by gasps for air.

Seraina pressed her face into the crook of her arm and cried as she heard coins hastily clinking together. Thankfully, by the time the third cock slid inside of her, Seraina lost consciousness, unable to cope with the abuse being visited upon her any longer.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Seraina stared at the entrance of Druoth's tent with apprehension and fear. It had been several weeks now since she had been caught by the Grimtotem raiding party and forced to endure unimaginable pain and humiliation. When she had woken up, she had been bound and gagged in Druoth's tent, and the leader of the Grimtotem raiding party had been staring down at her, clearly unimpressed with her. He didn't waste any time then, either. When he raped her this time, she was forced to watch his face. His hand had wrapped around her muzzle to keep her mouth shut, forcing her to breathe through her nose. Her noises had been muffled because of it, as well, making her wonder what his intention had truly been.

Forcing himself on her hadn't been the only thing Druoth had done. If Seraina did anything that displeased him, he would strike her. He bloodied her nose and lips, bruised and cut her flesh, and very nearly broke bones. He forced her to serve him food and drink, hand-feeding him and making sure his cup was always full of wine or water or whatever it was he wanted, and Druoth's desires changed as fast as the weather did. When he slept, he bound Seraina first and weighted her down with shackles, so that she couldn't get any ideas about killing him and escaping.

She supposed the only good thing now was Druoth no longer allowed other males to pay to use her. It seemed he coveted her, and he kept her for himself. The night of her capture had been the exception, apparently. Though she had passed out during the abuse, her body still remembered what had obviously happened after she'd lost consciousness. It had taken days for the bruises from fingers to go away, days for the aches and pains inside her to go away, and days for the terror of possibly being used again like that to stop. Oh, she was still terrified, because Druoth still used her and he used her roughly. Sometimes he wouldn't even use his cock, but whatever object might be at hand at the time. Sometimes, he would use both his cock and any object at hand. Sometimes he would choke her as he used her. Sometimes he beat her just to excite himself, and instead of shoving his cock inside her womb, he forced it up her ass. If she fought, he would make the experience as painful as possible. If she was passive, he would lose interest after coming inside her.

That was her life in the village. She served Druoth as a slave and a whore and she longed for the day she could be free again. Oh, she'd tried to escape several times before now, and that only earned her a vicious beating. She learned that if she cowered a little one day, then cowered a little more the next day, Druoth grew overconfident and gave her little measures of freedom, such as a long chain that allowed her to move from the pole she was chained to to his bed. However, he never gave her enough freedom to leave the tent, to escape the village, and he definitely never gave her enough freedom to obtain a weapon in order to kill him. Which she would have done, if she could've gotten her hands on a knife or some other blade, of course. He knew that. Still, that knowledge didn't stop Druoth from using her as he wished, or beating her, or threatening to sell her for ten gold again, which almost always made her quail.

She once found the bravery to ask him, "Ten gold? Is that all I'm worth?"

He'd smacked her and had replied, "I'd demand fifteen or twenty, if you had any skills other than crying and begging."

It wasn't until she'd managed to speak to another slave, an older Tauren girl, that she learned what the "skills" Druoth had been referring to were. Seraina had also learned, at that point, that she had a coveted position by being the leader's pet.

Even if she walked openly in the village as a slave, no other male could touch her because she belonged to Druoth. The collar she wore around her neck denoted that, along with the two young bulls that watched her every movement when she was actually allowed into the village. If someone tried, the two young bulls would beat them off, or Druoth would end the attempt by simply maiming or killing the trespasser.

Public displays were all too common as well. The slaves were at the mercy of anyone who felt like abusing them. It wasn't just male Grimtotem that would force themselves on the slave girls; female Grimtotem would assault them as well. Seraina had witnessed such a scene, watching a female Grimtotem force a young slave girl to lick the wet folds of flesh between her legs while another female Grimtotem spread the the slave girl's labia and pushed her fingers inside her, as if she was trying to inspect the girl's insides.

On another occasion, she had been a member of the audience rather than the entertainment. And that was the day she finally understood what Druoth had been talking about when he had mentioned 'skills'.

Seraina had watched as two Grimtotem bulls grabbed the Tauren slave-girl and forced her to kneel. Skill one, Seraina had observed, was the proper way to suck a cock. The girl seemed to be an expert at it, keeping one hand wrapped around one cock and stroking it as her tongue swirled around the other, taking the hard shaft deep into her throat and sucking hard before she switched. Skill two, Seraina had observed, was sucking one cock while the other buried itself deep inside her. The slave girl had gyrated her hips with each thrust, moaning as if she loved the rough thrusts, whimpering affirmatives when the bulls asked her if she liked being fucked like this, if she liked having a cock in her pussy, if she liked the taste of come. The slave girl even begged for more, pleading with the bull behind her to thrust harder and deeper into her, to come inside her and then fuck her again. By this time, the three now had a crowd watching, and Seraina felt dirty and weak for watching and wanting to slip away. The Grimtotem bulls watching whispered among each other, gesturing at the slave girl before rubbing the bulges in their pants. The female Grimtotem studied the slave girl with dark scowls, but then their attention switched to the two bulls, and they gave the two males appraising glances, as if they themselves were in the market for a mate and were debating on the virility of the two males enjoying themselves in full view of everyone.

Soon, Seraina found herself unable to look away. The slave girl now rode both males, their shafts in the same hole and moving at different rhythms. As if that wasn't enough, she begged for one to come inside her and then shove his cock up her ass, which, after a while, one did exactly as she begged him to do. The two males grasped her breasts, squeezing and pinching while they used her, slapping her face now and then, or slapping her asscheeks, and laughing the whole while. When the slave girl looked at Seraina with a gaze of hate, she couldn't stand there and watch anymore. She fled, and hadn't gone back into the village since.

And the weeks passed.

He had ordered her to stay in the tent that morning while he went off to do whatever he did, and had told her if she moved even an inch, he would make her regret it. So she obeyed, because she was still sore from last night (she shivered as she remembered his fingers closing around her neck as he thrust deep into her, his face leering down at her as he told her how good she felt clenching around his cock) and she didn't want a repeat performance before she had a while to heal. She prayed to the Earth Mother that whatever Druoth was planning now wouldn't involve him hurting her.

He returned with thunder and fury, and it took all of her willpower to stay utterly still. He closed the tent's entrance behind him and stood there, watching her. Druoth liked to test her, Seraina had realized too late, or early enough, depending on how one looked at it. If she failed his test, whether she knew she was being tested or not, he would hurt her. If she passed his test, again, whether she knew she was being tested or not, then he would still hurt her, but he wouldn't make her bleed, at least.

"I have a deal for you, pet." Druoth said suddenly. "Would you like to hear it?"

Confused and a little afraid, Seraina didn't trust herself to speak. So she just nodded.

He smiled and it was cruel. "I know you've longed for your freedom. To never feel my touch ever again. So I've decided to give you what you've desired for so long."

She swallowed and hoped he didn't see the desperation in it. "You're going to let me go?"

"Of course. I'll let you go. That is, of course, you accept the deal."

Seraina didn't stop to think. "I'll do it!"

Druoth laughed and there was true amusement in the sound. "Are you sure? You haven't even heard my offer yet."

"I don't care! I'll do it!"

His eyes glittered as he stared down at her. "Really? You would trade twelve souls for your own?"

Seraina's giddiness and glee at finally being free was crushed under the implication contained in his words. She stared up at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Please don't tell me you honestly thought I'd let you go for free, did you?" He 'tsk'ed and shook his head. "Stupid bitch. No, your freedom has to be _bought_. The deal is this: you go and catch us a dozen girls - young girls, twelve young and healthy Tauren girls - and you bring them back here to us. You do that, and you can walk out of here unscathed. No one will stop you. No one will touch you. I'll make sure of that. Twelve for you."

Seraina shivered. How could she sacrifice twelve girls for herself? She knew - oh, how well she knew! - what was in store for those girls if she did that. Their innocence would be shattered. Their lives would be spent in fear and hate. They would never again know freedom. They would never be safe again. They would never know another gentle touch or the wholesomeness of love. They would only know the cruelty of the Grimtotem. And yet... and yet the siren call of freedom - true freedom - of never having to endure another beating or another rape, was too good to pass up. But could she live with herself? Could she live with the knowledge that she, and no other, was responsible for ruining the lives of a dozen helpless girls?

Seraina met Druoth's gaze steadily, but her voice wavered as she asked, "I have your word that you'll free me after I've returned them?"

Druoth smiled, but it didn't reach his glittering eyes. "You have my word."

This time her voice was calm and steady. "I'll do it. I'll get you those twelve girls."


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Seraina moved confidently, perhaps for the first time in her life since becoming a slave to the Grimtotem. She was mere days away from freedom, provided, of course, she delivered upon her end of the deal. She wasn't alone; Druoth knew better than to send her on her way by herself. There was no guarantee that she would return then, and he would lose out on thirteen slaves rather than just one. Seraina glanced over her shoulder at the two massive bulls that trailed behind her by a good distance. They had been hand-picked by Druoth, and they were both experienced hunters and trackers and ambushers. They were also experienced in handling unruly merchandise and didn't make mistakes. They were there to help her as much as watch her, and ensure that she wouldn't double-cross Druoth and take off. Or alert Thunder Bluff to their presence and exactly what they were doing. She couldn't mistake their presence for anything other than a guard and assassins. Especially since one was always awake keeping watch when the other slept, ensuring that she couldn't sneak off in the middle of the night.

She didn't yet know how she would entice twelve young Tauren girls to leave the safety of their villages and camps and join her. She didn't yet know how she would ensure their silence or keep them from overpowering her and the two Grimtotem. She hoped their fear would help with most of it. She knew how brutal the Grimtotem could be, and though she was sure the two males behind her had been thoroughly instructed, she was also sure that they would do anything they needed to make sure they delivered on their leader's request. If that meant breaking a few jaws, or binding mouths shut, or whatever else, then they would do it.

There weren't many encampments to choose from in the Barrens, and it would be suicide to attempt to take anyone from the Crossroads, so Seraina chose to make her hunting ground in the verdant fields of Mulgore. There were plenty of youngsters running about, so she hoped it would be easy to find twelve that were curious enough to follow her to the appointed area.

Some part of her felt terrible about what she was doing. She knew that the nobler thing to do would be to sacrifice herself to save those girls from a terrible fate. The nobler thing to do would be to continue to endure, maybe find a way to end her torment one way or another. But that was the answer to someone with a measure of strength, and that was the answer someone who had never experienced what she had would give. She shuddered as she remembered Druoth's touch, the feel of his cock inside her, the feel of him doing other things to her. She shivered as she remembered the things he had made her do, to herself and to him, to objects. That was no way to live. That was no way to just _exist_. Druoth was too smart to give her a knife, too smart to allow her anywhere near weaponry, whether that weapon was a fork or a sword. She didn't even have a weapon now, which she could turn on her "escort" and thus free herself from her promise. She wanted out, and if this was the price to pay to get out, she was doing it gladly. Let someone else take her place and suffer. She didn't want to endure it anymore.

They entered Mulgore under the cover of darkness, where the Grimtotem bulls could slip by posted guards as easily as shadows. Seraina strode on confidently by, not caring if anyone saw her. She was a Tauren returning to her homeland, and her business was her own. Of course, Druoth had beat his instructions into her, so if she _was_ stopped, she had plenty of answers for the questions that would be given to her. But she wasn't, so she and her two companions entered Mulgore without incident. She figured the easiest place to set up temporary camp would be in the stretch of spindly trees that the harpies infested. No one would enter those trees willingly, so it would be a safe place to camp and hold the girls Seraina managed to convince to follow her. The two Grimtotem seemed to agree with her assessment when she told them of her thoughts, and after a brief massacre of harpies, the three now had a relatively safe place to set up for their task. Seraina watched the two bulls pound stakes into the ground and hook chains to the thick iron ring that topped the stake. The chains were temporary measures, designed to keep their quarry from being able to run away.

They also pulled out twelve muzzles, contraptions designed to pin the girls' mouths shut so they couldn't scream. The last item was standard rope, no doubt for binding hands. When they were finished, one set his back against a tree where he would have an excellent view of the camp and Seraina, where no one could sneak up on him, and he could see the fields below and alert his companion to unfriendly approach. Seraina tried to sleep, knowing that, when the sun rose, she would be expected to start working.

Dawn started too soon.

Seraina headed into Bloodhoof Village to seek out her first victim, wondering how many girls she would be able to get today. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that she would get all twelve in one shot, but hey, she could dream, couldn't she? She figured it would take a while to round up the number she needed, and then the next challenge would be to get them all out of Mulgore, through the Barrens, and into Dustwallow Marsh without any Longwalkers or, even worse, _Baine_ catching wind of what she was doing. She was certain he wouldn't hesitate to put her down, likening her to her captors. Even if he _did_ listen to her and believed her, Seraina knew she would forever bear the marks of a traitor and she would likely be exiled. She closed her eyes tight and focused on breathing deeply so she wouldn't start to cry. She had to get this done. She had to get it done so she could truly be free. Seraina stopped caring about anyone but herself, because it was the only way she could survive.

The morning she spent observing people. Everyone moved with a relaxed sort of air, from adults to terribly young children, laughing and playing and working as if they didn't have a care in the world. By midafternoon, Seraina had picked out a few possible choices, and observed them more closely. There were three of them, all friends, young and impressionable. It wasn't hard to approach them and insinuate herself in their conversation, acting the part of the huntress she used to be, regaling them with stories of adventure and riches. She had them when she described fighting fearsome Alliance warriors and finding romance in the arms of a mysterious warrior who promised to love her eternally, even though they couldn't be together. She told them where they could find her and told them to sneak out of the village after dark.

The three girls didn't have a chance. They were caught, bound, gagged, and chained before they even realized they were being overpowered. The Grimtotem bulls surveyed her first catch with appraising eyes, then nodded to one another.

In the morning, Seraina went hunting again, this time elsewhere in Mulgore. She managed to convince two girls to follow her this time, using the same stories she had with the first three.

Over the next week and a half - she spread out her hunting time to avoid drawing attention to the disappearances, because these girls _were_ missed, and their families had become worried when they hadn't returned - Seraina managed to convince twelve girls to walk on their own away from everything they had ever known and into the arms of two monsters. It had taken much longer than the two Grimtotem seemed to be comfortable with, for with each passing hour, and each missing girl, the patrols by the Longwalkers had become more frequent and even Baine was leaving Thunder Bluff to lead searches. It was a nail-biting experience packing up all twelve girls, who, even when muffled and bound with rope instead of chain, still made an incredible amount of noise.

The two Grimtotem bulls kept the line of girls between them, one before, one behind. Seraina led the entire procession. Seraina was out front presumably to keep anyone from taking much notice of the long line of prisoners and the two outsiders, but she was sure that anyone who decided to take an interest in them wouldn't do so because of _her_. Still, they moved under cover of darkness, and the moonless night tonight aided them in their escape. Crossing Mulgore now seemed to take so much longer than it had when they first arrived, but the two Grimtotem kept a harsh pace, striking anyone who so much as whimpered or tried to trip either herself or the girl in front of her in order to slow them down. The crack between Mulgore and the Barrens loomed soon enough, and then they were through.

Seraina let out her breath in a relieved sigh. They were halfway there. She was almost free.

Then one girl yelped, muffled though it was by her muzzle, and she crashed hard to the ground, one ankle twisted awkwardly.

Seraina immediately went to help. The two Grimtotem looked ready to beat the girl to a pulp for something that clearly wasn't her fault. Seraina looked up at them and said, "Druoth doesn't mind a little blood, but if she shows up with broken bones and isn't usable, you know what he'll do."

The two males glanced at each other and frowned. The bigger one crouched and undid the contraption binding the girl's wrists to the waist rope of the girl in front of her. Then he yanked on the line, closing the gap and hooking the next girl in place. Then he looked down at Seraina. "Make sure she can stand and walk. We'll go on ahead. Remember what will happen if you fail." he growled. Then he nodded to his partner, and the big bull yanked on the lead rope, pulling the girls along.

It was mere moments before they all disappeared into the darkness.

Seraina turned her attention back to the wounded girl. "Okay," she said, trying to keep her voice friendly, "let's see what's going on here."

The girl kicked out so suddenly that Seraina was forced to jerk back or else get kicked in the face. The edge of the girl's hoof still caught her on the chin, snapping her head back enough to hurt and stun her. Then the girl was up and running, fleeing back toward Mulgore. Seraina got enough of her wits back to give chase, tackling the girl to the ground. They wrestled, Seraina struggling to pin the girl and capture her once more and the girl struggling to get away from Seraina. The girl delivered a hard punch to Seraina's nose, then kicked up at her stomach. Seraina rolled off the girl, choking and unable to get enough air into her lungs. She felt dizzy and sick, and panic was starting to take over. If the girl got away, then Seraina was screwed. She reached out to grab the girl's ankle.

The girl didn't waste any time kicking Seraina's hand. Bone crunched, making Seraina cry out in pain. Then the girl bolted, disappearing into the darkness and taking any hope Seraina had of being free with her.

Seraina bit back the scream of frustration that wanted to escape. It took her a long moment to get to her feet, and that was when she realized something. The two bull Grimtotem had gone on ahead with the eleven other girls. She could run. She could disappear into the wilds of Azeroth and no one would ever be able to find her. She could go to Outland. To Pandaria. Northrend. No one would be able to find her in those places.

A strong hand closed on the back of her neck, fingers gripping painfully into her main. The Grimtotem bull that had originally freed the girl stared down at Seraina, contempt in his eyes. Seraina stared back, crying silently with pain and frustration.

She didn't walk back into the village proudly that afternoon, ready to declare her freedom to her captors and tormentors. She didn't necessarily walk back in bound, but it was definitely clear something had gone wrong, as she was walking in between her two escorts, along with eleven bound, terrified, crying Tauren girls. To make everything worse, Druoth was waiting for them. He didn't look at Seraina at first, instead inspecting each girl as he had inspected her so long ago. He checked their teeth. He squeezed their breasts. With one of the prettier ones, he shoved his hand down her pants and it was clear by the expression on her face and the way she lurched away from him that he had pushed his fingers inside of her. After a minute, he removed his hand and studied the line as he might study a roast. Then he turned to the two Grimtotem standing on either side of Seraina.

"Put her in my tent. I'll be there in a moment."

Seraina found herself dragged toward her prison, and she was thrown inside. It was clear the two bulls had taken up positions outside the tent's entrance, as she could see their shadows against the material. She couldn't see what was going on outside, but there was too much noise for it to be anything good. Screams, laughter, grunts and groans, they all filled her ears like a nightmare filled her mind.

Then Druoth entered the tent. He didn't say anything. He hit her. Her head snapped back and she fell to the floor. He kicked her, his cloven hoof digging into her stomach, then her chest. Seraina coughed up blood, unable to shriek because her lungs refused to take in air. She was pretty sure some ribs were bruised if not broken. His fists were like boulders, driving into her flesh with fury and, perhaps, excitement as well. The big Grimtotem bull pounded away, not giving her any time to breath or scream or beg or explain her side of the story. When he seemed to finish expressing his rage, he grabbed her by the ankle and started to drag her out of the tent.

"I gave you express orders," Druoth said, his voice sounding far too pleasant, "I gave you express orders and you disobeyed them. Twelve. I said twelve for your freedom. You delivered eleven."

"But-"

"Oh, I know what happened. It was explained to me. He watched everything that happened, deciding to give you the benefit of the doubt. You did what you could, I'm sure, but a deal is a deal."

"But-!"

"Twelve. I promised my men twelve. They only have eleven."

Seraina struggled, as futile as it was. She clawed at the earth as Druoth dragged her from the tent, out into the fading sunlight. Now she heard the noises more clearly - the screams of girls as Druoth's warriors forced themselves into them, the grunts of those taking their pleasure and laughter of the Grimtotem as they watched - and they scared her more than anything else ever had. Druoth continued to drag her, and the sounds grew louder and louder with every step. He yanked on her ankle then, his considerable strength lifting her straight up off the ground, upside down. She caught a glimpse of what she had been hearing - those eleven girls splayed on the ground beneath powerful bulls, held down by powerful hands, as thick cocks stole every last bit of childhood and freedom that they had left - and then she was staring into Druoth's leering face.

"Well." he said, his voice like thunder. "Now they'll have twelve."

He tossed her toward the mess she had glimpsed as casually as he might toss a rotten apple. Seraina hit the ground and yelled in pain, and that was before a hand closed on her shin and dragged her beneath its owner. The massive Grimtotem bull sneered down at her, tore her pants clear off her backside, and forced her down onto her stomach.

Seraina stared up at Druoth, trying to beg for mercy. As she felt her insides suddenly torn asunder, Druoth picked up the pretty Tauren girl he'd inspected before and dragged the crying girl away from the pile. As she watched him walk away with that girl firmly grasped in his hand, she felt fingers dig into her hair and lift her head up. Then she saw nothing but thick, wiry fur and hot, hard flesh, and knew nothing more except what she could hear coming from within the prison that was once hers.


End file.
